U.S. Secretary
of Commerce Penny Pritzker traveled to Atlanta, Georgia this week to emphasize
the importance of helping U.S. companies launch and increase their business in
Africa at the “Discover Global Markets: Sub-Saharan Africa” Conference. The
event brought together U.S. government officials, visiting U.S. commercial
diplomats posted at embassies throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, international
business leaders, trade finance experts, and others to help companies identify
and develop trade and investment opportunities on the continent.

Secretary Pritzker
reiterated America’s commitment to solving the Ebola crisis, while emphasizing
that fears about the virus should not get in the way of the facts on the ground
in Africa. Ebola is confined to just three countries with a total population of
roughly 21 million, while the entire African continent is home to 1.1 billion.
The world public health apparatus is actively engaged, and doctors, nurses, and
medical workers are using the proper protocols to treat patients and to slow
the number of new cases. Efforts to eliminate the virus are starting to turn
the corner, and growth of the disease is slowing in Liberia.

Despite the
challenges presented by Ebola, Africa presents tremendous long-term growth
opportunities, and both the U.S. government and the U.S. private sector are
committed to deepening our economic and commercial engagement on the continent.
Africa is home to six of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world –
including Chad, Congo, the Ivory Coast, Mozambique, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone.
Real income has increased more than 30 percent, reversing two decades of
decline, and GDP is expected to rise 6 percent each year over the next decade.
By 2040, Africa will boast a larger workforce than either India or China.

The Discover
Global Markets Forum served to increase economic and commercial engagement in
Africa by helping companies launch or increase their business on the continent.
The event also built on the success of the first-ever U.S.-Africa Business
Forum, which the Department of Commerce co-hosted in August. This Forum brought
together hundreds of American and African chief executives officers with nearly
every African head of state to spur more trade and investment between the
United States and Africa. At this Forum, U.S. firms announced more than $14
billion worth of investments throughout the continent.

Guest blog post by the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Stefan M. Selig

Earlier
this month, the U.S. Department of Commerce and Bloomberg Philanthropies
co-hosted an event showing that
Africa is one of the world’s next great sources of economic growth.

The first-ever U.S.-Africa Business
Forum brought together American and African business leaders with the heads of
nearly 50 African nations to exchange ideas and create partnerships that will
promote trade, accelerate job growth, and encourage investment.

And this was not just an academic
discussion. We built the kind of relationships that will help usher in a new
level of success for the growing economies and businesses of Africa, as well as
spur real gains for U.S. companies.

Several
American companies, among others, announced new partnerships in Africa, resulting in multi-million and multi-billion
dollar deals:

Also, as part of the White House’s Power Africa
initiative—which
pledges to invest $7 billion and create an additional 10,000 megawatts of
cleaner electricity over the next five years— American company Contour Global
secured a $120 million contract to rehabilitate an existing Senegalese power
site and construct a new one. That deal will provide another 53 megawatts of
electricity to Senegal’s citizens.

As excited as my colleagues and I are
about these deals, contract signings weren’t the only highlights of the forum.

In case you missed it during the U.S.-Africa
Business Forum last week, the International Trade Administration (ITA) published
a report that shows that the U.S. trade relationship with Africa is growing at
an increasing rate.

ITA’s Report
on U.S.-Africa Trade and Investment examines the economic
statistics related to U.S. commercial involvement in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) –
one of the world’s fastest-growing economic regions. The report is part of the Doing
Business in Africa (DBIA) campaign, through which federal
trade agencies are joining forces with U.S. businesses to take advantage of the
growing export and investment opportunities available in the region.

Here are the five key takeaways of the report:

1. Sub-Saharan
Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in the world. Average
GDP growth has surpassed 5.2 percent three straight years. The International
Monetary Fund estimates that this will increase in both
2014 and 2015.

2. U.S.
exports to SSA are at record levels. Merchandise exports
reached $24 billion in 2013, an increase of $8.8 billion from 2009. The past
decade saw the largest increase in value of U.S. exports to sub-Saharan Africa
in history; U.S. goods exports have increased by 130 percent since 2000, or an
average of 6.7 percent annually.

3. Small
and medium-sized businesses are finding success in SSA. More
than92 percent of businesses
exporting to Africa are considered small and medium-sized enterprises—those
with fewer than 500 employees. They accounted for a 53 percent increase in the
value of exports to the region from 2009-2012.

4. Most
export growth originates from Texas, Louisiana, New York, Illinois, New Jersey
and Georgia. In total, these states accounted for 60
percent of total exports and more than 70 percent of growth in exports to SSA
in 2013. Mineral fuel and oil drilling, automotive parts and supplies, precious
metals, and boilers and machinery parts are the top export sectors to SSA
common among these states.

5. Total U.S. Foreign Direct Investment
(FDI) in Africa has grown by 37.5 percent since 2009. While
world foreign direct investment position in 2012 was 27 percent greater than in
2009, U.S. FDI position grew by 40 percent during that period.

As evidence of the report’s positive outlook for
U.S. trade with Sub-Saharan Africa watch this short video of many of the deal
signings that happened last week at the U.S.-Africa Business Forum.

For the first time since the
Obama administration’s “Doing Business in Africa” initiative went into effect, an aviation company has
landed a multi-year deal in Africa. AAR, a global aerospace, government and
defense contractor, recently announced a five-year deal with Kenya Airways.
Under the conditions of this multi-million dollar accord, Kenya Airways agrees
to provide power-by-the-hour component support for its fleet of 737NG aircraft,
while AAR places inventory on site in Nairobi and offers rotable pool support
from its newly established supply chain in Brussels.

The U.S. Department of
Commerce’s leadership and staff from Washington D.C., Chicago and the U.S.
Embassy in Kenya aided the finalization of this arrangement by connecting AAR’s
top executives with African government and business officials during a visit to
Nairobi, Kenya. The successful advocacy strategy was also supported by several
inter-agency partners including the U.S. State
Department.

Deals like
these are one of the key reasons the U.S. Department of Commerce and Bloomberg Philanthropies
hosted the inaugural U.S.-Africa Business Forum on Tuesday. The event, part of President Obama’s U.S.-Africa
Leaders’ Summit, focused on
trade and investment opportunities on the continent. The Forum highlighted U.S. private sector engagement in Africa in the areas of finance
and capital investment, infrastructure, power and energy, agriculture, consumer
goods, and information communication technology. Heads of state engaged with
business executives from both sides of the Atlantic in conversations about
successes and solutions to build greater access for trade and investment in
Africa. The day served as a
catalytic opportunity for American companies to increase economic partnerships
and investment in Africa and ended with the announcement that U.S. companies
plan to invest more than $14 billion in the continent.

While these announcements and
deals are exciting moments, they take
great preparation and negotiation. For
example, AAR contacted
the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Advocacy
Center for assistance in reaching decision-makers at Kenya Airways,
including the CEO. Over the course of several months, AAR representatives
were provided with assistance on meeting legal requirements, establishing
business protocols, and cultivating key business relationships in Kenya. The advocacy effort was brought to the attention of
then-Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank, who in late 2012, personally
advocated on behalf of AAR to Kenya Airways and government officials during her
trip to Nairobi, Kenya; providing an additional measure of support which helped
secure the business deal for AAR.

Yesterday, at the U.S.-Africa Business Forum, U.S. Secretary
of Commerce Penny Pritzker highlighted a number of Commerce Department efforts
to help more American businesses explore opportunities in Africa’s fast-growing
markets. The Forum, focused on trade and investment opportunities on the
continent, was part of President Obama’s three-day U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit,
the largest event that any U.S. president has ever convened with African heads
of state or government.

Co-hosted by the Department of Commerce and Bloomberg
Philanthropies, the U.S.-Africa Business Forum was created to encourage greater
U.S. investment in Africa, foster business deals, and help create jobs on both
sides of the Atlantic. During remarks at the Forum, President Obama announced that
U.S. businesses have already committed to investing $14 billion in clean
energy, aviation, banking, and construction projects, among other commitments
totaling more than $33 billion that support economic growth in Africa and
thousands of U.S. jobs.

The Commerce Department leads the Doing Business in Africa (DBIA) campaign, which was launched in 2012 as part
of the President Obama’s “U.S. Strategy Toward Sub-Saharan Africa.” DBIA aims
to increase U.S. trade promotion to Africa, address market barriers, expand the
availability of trade financing, and attract more American companies to explore
sub-Saharan Africa trade and investment opportunities.

In an op-ed published by Forbes, Secretary
Pritzker and Michael Bloomberg touted the business deals signed during the
forum and made the case for Africa as a prime investment location. “We know what is possible when American
companies work hand-in-hand with African counterparts: we can help raise living
standards and pave the way for future growth.” One example of the
benefits of these partnerships can be seen through IBM, who opened Africa’s
first major commercial technology research lab in Kenya to pioneer
consumer-facing innovations aimed at African markets. This forum was only the
beginning, and highlighted American companies willingness to increase their
economic partnerships and investment in Africa.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker delivered opening remarks at the U.S.-Africa Business Forum, a day focused on trade and investment opportunities on the continent. In her remarks, Secretary Pritzker stated that the U.S.-Africa economic relationship is fundamental to our mutual peace and prosperity. She discussed the work that the Commerce Department is doing to advance President Obama’s vision for the future of U.S.-Africa relations, including expanding the Foreign Commercial Service presence across the continent. She announced that the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency will lead 10 new trade missions to Africa and 10 reverse trade missions to the United States by 2020. She also announced the start of NIST’s Global Cities Challenge to catalyze the development of “smart cities,” as well as the launch of a new web portal for American businesses to explore opportunities in Africa. We want to make doing business in Africa easier for every business. Noting that increased trade and investment in Africa will spur growth on both sides of the Atlantic, Secretary Pritzker expressed her hope that the business and government leaders will keep the U.S.-Africa partnership open for more growth and success.

Note: This post is part of the U.S.-Africa Business
Success Stories series highlighting the work of the Department of Commerce to
strengthen the economic relationship between U.S. and African businesses. This
series will lead up to the U.S. Africa Business Forum on August 5th,
the first of its kind event, which will convene African heads of state and
government, U.S. government officials and business leaders to discuss trade and
investment opportunities on the continent.

Hann
Powerboats’ customers include the United States Air Force, United States Navy,
and the United States Army Corps of Engineers – and now, because of assistance
that the company received from the Department of Commerce, they can add another
name to their impressive list: the Nigerian oil and gas company, MOP Marine.

U.S.
businesses like Hann Powerboats are increasingly seeing tremendous economic
opportunity in Africa, and the reason why is simple: Africa is thriving. From
1995 to 2013, Africa experienced an average annual GDP growth rate of 4.5
percent. In 2012, eight of the twenty fastest growing economies in the world
were in sub-Saharan Africa, and, according to the IMF, in 2013, total U.S.
two-way goods with the region were $63 billion. Africa’s potential to be the
world’s next major economic story is why businesses in the United States, like
Hann Powerboats, want to offer their products, services, and expertise to help
unlock even more of Africa’s potential – that is why the Obama Administration
and the Department of Commerce remain committed to assisting American
businesses in finding opportunity in this economically expanding region.

Hann
Powerboats became interested in expanding its business to Africa when it was
approached by a potential client in Nigeria to secure MOP Marine’s need for
patrol boats. Hann Powerboats asked for assistance from the Tampa Bay U.S.
Export Assistance Center (USEAC) and the U.S. Commercial Service (CS) team in
Lagos to help with vetting this potential partner, and CS Lagos was able to
facilitate meetings between Hann Powerboats and MOP Marine. The Tampa Bay USEAC
then helped put Hann Powerboats in touch with the Nigerian Embassy in
Washington D.C. to help with them acquire proper documentation. The result of
this assistance allowed Hann Powerboats to make sales to MOP Marine for over $4
million.

The United States understands the importance of creating opportunities for young people to succeed, both in this country and around the world. That is why yesterday, during a town hall with 500 exceptional young people who participated in the Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders - President Obama announced the expansion of his Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). At the town hall, President Obama announced that the fellowship, the flagship YALI program, will be renamed the “Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders,” and will be doubled to reach 1,000 participants per year by 2016. Launched in 2014, YALI is a signature effort to support the next generation of African leaders and embodies President Obama’s commitment to invest in the future of Africa. The Washington Fellowship connects young African leaders to leadership training opportunities at some of America’s top universities to help expand their leadership skills and knowledge so they can foster change in their communities and countries.

At the Commerce Department, we are also working closely with young entrepreneurs to help spur economic growth by helping them gain the skills and connections they need to launch new businesses and create jobs in their communities. Entrepreneurship is a cornerstone of the global economy, giving people the power to unlock their economic potential and transform their communities. With the launch of the Presidential Ambassadors for Global Entrepreneurship (PAGE) initiative, chaired by Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, the U.S. government is partnering with 11 prominent American business leaders to mentor the next generation of entrepreneurs. Africa is an area of interest for PAGE efforts. In fact, as part of a trade mission to West Africa this past May, Secretary Pritzker and PAGE member Nina Vaca, CEO of Pinnacle Technical Resources, visited the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) and the MEST Incubator program, which provides training, investment and mentoring opportunities for aspiring technology entrepreneurs in Africa. In addition, PAGE members Steve Case, Chairman and CEO of Revolution, and Alexa von Tobel, CEO of LearnVest, will be sharing their experiences and expertise on Wednesday on an “Enabling Inclusive Economic Development” plenary session, as part of the fellowship Summit.